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Project Name: Affordable Care Act Teaching Health Center (THC) Graduate Medical Education (GME) Payment Program (T91)
Applicant Title: FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS OF SAN DIEGO INC
Abstract Text: Applicant Organization Name: Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc. (FHCSD) Address: 823 Gateway Center Way, San Diego, CA 92102-4541 Project Director Name: Thao P. Tran, MD Contact Phone Numbers (Voice, Fax): xxx-xxx-xxxx x3575 (voice); xxx-xxx-xxxx (fax) Email Address: xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx; Website Address, if applicable: www.fhcsd.org Funds requested in the application: $960,000 for July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 Overview: Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), a not-for-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and community-based ambulatory patient center, is requesting continuation funds to support its HRSA THCGME Program, the Family Health Centers of San Diego – Family Medicine Residency (FMR) Program (operating alone). FHCSD’s three-year FMR Program began training residents with HRSA THCGME funding in 2014 and is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for 18 residents effective February 6, 2023. The program goal is to recruit and train physicians from diverse backgrounds who are interested in providing care to the underserved communities of San Diego, while providing high-quality, broad-based clinical education and experience. Since its inaugural year, the FMR program has graduated 42 family medicine physicians of whom 31 continue to provide community medicine in underserved areas. FHCSD is requesting funding for 6 resident FTE positions for AY 2024-2025. We are requesting a total of 18 FTE positions (e.g., 6-6-6) be funded under this program for all years of training through July of 2028. Need to be addressed and population group(s): FHCSD currently serves more uninsured patients than any community clinic in the nation and is one of the 10 largest FQHCs in the nation. We are a HRSA Quality Leader, indicating FHCSD is the top-performing community clinic in the country for clinical metrics, and a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year. FHCSD provides culturally sensitive care to a diverse, primarily low-income population (161,436 unique patients served in 2022) across San Diego County’s Central, East, South, and North regions. 88% of our patients live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), and 38% are best served in a language other than English. This population experiences persistent disparities across a range of health outcomes and poorer health status than residents of other county regions. Given the many health challenges and barriers (e.g., poverty, lack of transportation, housing costs, language) facing the patient population, FHCSD stands as a critical safety-net healthcare provider. We have also developed an acute sense for the growing shortage of primary care physicians, and we established our FMR program in 2014 to retain quality physicians who are prepared for a career in Family Medicine in underserved communities. Description of services and training location: FHCSD’s FMR Program is based in our City Heights Family Health Center (CHFHC), the Family Medicine Center (FMC). The patient population served at the CHFHC FMC is impoverished and exceptionally diverse, mirroring the population of City Heights. During 2022, 96% of CHFHC patients who reported income lived below 200% of the FPG. Of those who reported ethnicity during 2022, 43.7% were Hispanic, 9.0% were African American, 16.2% were Caucasian, 4.0% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.3% were multiracial, and 22.3% were "other". In addition to the CHFHC FMC, the nine additional program sites, including four participating hospitals (one pediatric and three general population), a dermatology practice, and four other FHCSD clinic sites (including a PACE program), will continue to provide residents with diverse learning experiences across disciplines, including general medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, integrated mental health and substance use disorder services, HIV/HCV care, and services for individuals experiencing homelessness.